A beta-type Stirling machine capable of operating in a refrigeration mode. The Stirling machine has a cold section and a hot section, a displacement piston having a friction zone, and an engine piston having a friction zone. The Stirling machine has a single liner arranged in the hot section of the Stirling machine operating in the refrigeration mode, wherein the friction zones of the displacement piston and the engine piston slide within the single liner.

A liquid piston Stirling engine electrical generator, the generator being a linearly reciprocating electrical generator that is powered by a Stirling engine having a liquid piston that is displaced by the cyclic contraction and expansion of a gas resulting from increases and decreases in temperature. The liquid piston and dynamic components of the linear generator are retained within a U-shaped tube or chamber, the tube being oriented in use to consist of a two upwardly extending, first and second vertical segments joining a horizontal segment. A liquid, such as oil or hydraulic fluid, is present in sufficient quantity to fill the horizontal segment and extend upward into the vertical segments.

An efficient stirling engine comprises an expansion chamber with a heater and a compression chamber with a cooler, wherein the two chambers are connected through a regenerator. A passage between the heater and the expansion chamber is provided with a first valve system, a passage between the cooler and the compression chamber is provided with a second valve system, the first valve system can close or open the passage between the heater and the expansion chamber, and the second valve system can close or open the passage between the cooler and the compression chamber. After adopting the structure above, when a heating end is heated to expand, a cooling end at the other end is closed, and on the contrary, when the cooling end is cooled to shrink, the heating end at the other end is closed, so that the heating energy is fully used, so as to increase the efficiency of the stirling engine.

A Stirling engine with internal regenerator and integral geometry for heat transfer and fluid flow has a displacer piston with a plurality of cavities traversing through the displacer piston and arranged in a specific cross sectional geometry. A heater head has heater fin protrusions that are arranged in the specific geometry, and a cooling bridge has cooler fin protrusions that are in the specific geometry. The displacer piston alternates between the heater head and the cooling bridge, with the cavities of the piston alternately enveloping the heater protrusions and the cooling protrusions, providing more efficient heat transfer to and from the working fluid. Each cavity in the displacer also contains a regenerator core, further improving heat transfer efficiency. The heater fin protrusions may also contain thermally conductive cores. A bellows assembly may also be used to seal the displacer piston from the heater head in order to reduce unswept volume.

The displacer 2d . . . has a gas retention space Hg . . . formed therein. The gas retention space Hg . . . enables a working gas G to be alternately moved between a heating unit 3h side and a cooling unit 3c side of a displacer cylinder 2c . . . by the movement of the displacer 2d . . . . The displacer 2d . . . and the displacer cylinder 2c . . . have an outer circumferential surface 2df and an inner circumferential surface 2ci, respectively, formed into such shapes as to be able to permit the movement of the displacer 2d . . . and inhibit passage of the working gas G. The displacer 2d . . . has a gas passageway 7 which is formed on its outer circumferential surface 2df and includes a gas passage groove that allows the gas retention space Hg to communicate with a working gas inlet/outlet 6 . . . provided in the displacer cylinder 2c . . . and connected to a power cylinder 5c.

An efficient stirling engine comprises an expansion chamber with a heater and a compression chamber with a cooler, wherein the two chambers are connected through a regenerator. A passage between the heater and the expansion chamber is provided with a first valve system, a passage between the cooler and the compression chamber is provided with a second valve system, the first valve system can close or open the passage between the heater and the expansion chamber, and the second valve system can close or open the passage between the cooler and the compression chamber. After adopting the structure above, when a heating end is heated to expand, a cooling end at the other end is closed, and on the contrary, when the cooling end is cooled to shrink, the heating end at the other end is closed, so that the heating energy is fully used, so as to increase the efficiency of the stirling engine.

A hot fluid expansion engine has a plurality of actuator modules arranged in a star configuration around a central shaft. Each module includes a drive piston defining a working chamber of variable volume in the first enclosure; a movable displacement piston subdividing a second enclosure into a low temperature chamber of variable volume and a high temperature chamber of variable volume with the high temperature chamber communicating with a unit of a fluid heater device and the low temperature chamber communicating with the working chamber; and a fluid circulation circuit extending between the fluid heater device and the working chamber. The drive piston and the displacement piston of each actuator module are connected to the central shaft via respective first and second eccentric transmission devices suitable for imparting reciprocating motion in translation to each of the pistons with a phase lag of 90.

The displacer 2d . . . has a gas retention space Hg . . . formed therein. The gas retention space Hg . . . enables a working gas G to be alternately moved between a heating unit 3h side and a cooling unit 3c side of a displacer cylinder 2c . . . by the movement of the displacer 2d . . . . The displacer 2d . . . and the displacer cylinder 2c . . . have an outer circumferential surface 2df and an inner circumferential surface 2ci, respectively, formed into such shapes as to be able to permit the movement of the displacer 2d . . . and inhibit passage of the working gas G. The displacer 2d . . . has a gas passageway 7 which is formed on its outer circumferential surface 2df and includes a gas passage groove that allows the gas retention space Hg to communicate with a working gas inlet/outlet 6 . . . provided in the displacer cylinder 2c . . . and connected to a power cylinder 5c.

Provided is a thermally efficient Stirling cycle engine including: a casing; a cylinder housed within the casing; a piston reciprocatable inside said cylinder; a displacer reciprocatable with a phase difference relative to the piston; a compression chamber defined between the piston and the displacer; an expansion chamber arranged on a first side of the displacer with a second side thereof opposite to the compression chamber; a heat exhausting unit arranged in the neighborhood of the compression chamber; a heat absorbing unit arranged in the neighborhood of the expansion chamber; a regenerator arranged between the heat exhausting unit and the heat absorbing unit; and a heat exhausting chamber defined between an outer surface of the casing and an inner surface of the heat exhausting unit, said heat exhausting chamber in communication with the compression chamber and the regenerator respectively through a first passage and a second passage provided in the casing.

The Thermal Compression Engine is an external combustion engine using a regenerator to achieve cycle efficiency. The Thermal Compression Engine uses thermal compression (heat addition resulting in pressure rise) rather than mechanical. By alternating flow into a constant volume, of hot and then cold fluid creates pressure rise and fall in the working fluid. This fluctuating pressure generates a reservoir of high, and a reservoir of low pressure fluid. The TCE cycle uses the high and low pressure storage to generate a fluid flow, with expansion through a turbine or other expansion device, to generate power.